The main goal of my research is to understand the neural bases of decision making and behavioural control. Current research in the lab focuses on two themes. The first is to understand the role of distinct brain nuclei and circuits in learning about the consequences of different behaviours and how we use this information to choose between different courses of action. We focus on cortico-striatal circuits and are interested in how life experiences such as drug exposure, diet or stress affect function in these circuits and alter the balance between goal-directed and habitual learning strategies. Second, we are interested in how previous learning is updated and modified and the role of different pharmacological systems in promoting plasticity that underlies this type of learning. We take a multidisciplinary approach to our research, combining sophisticated behavioral paradigms with a range of state-of-the-art neuroscience techniques including electrophysiological recording, optogenetic manipulation and pharmacological methods. The capacity to encode the consequences of our behaviours and modify previous learning when conditions change is at the heart of flexible decision making and deficits in this ability may underlie a range of neuropsychiatric disorders. We hope that improved understanding of learning-related plasticity will lead to novel therapeutic strategies.

2001

The role of the nucleus accumbens in instrumental conditioning: Evidence of a functional dissociation between accumbens core and shell. Corbit LH, Muir JL, Balleine BW. J Neurosci. 2001 May 1;21(9):3251-60.pubmed